A current trend in the electronics and computer industry is the convergence of computer systems and more traditional entertainment system components. As this convergence continues, more components in these systems will be combined together resulting in an increase in entertainment selections and entertainment system data available to users.
Current mechanisms for storing and providing entertainment system data to users are component specific. For example, programming guides made available by many cable companies provide some entertainment system data relating to entertainment selections available to the users. Typically, the programming guides provide an on-screen display of programming information for channels supported by the cable system. The programming guides, however, do not store or display entertainment system data from sources other than the cable company to the user. Thus, for example, if a user's entertainment system includes a digital satellite system (DSS), a vertical blanking interval (VBI) decoder, a modem, a network connection, or a video library, the entertainment system data from these entertainment selection would not be available to the user on the cable system's programming guide.
In addition, the programming guides typically display limited information about an entertainment selection. The information is usually limited to the title of the entertainment selection, the time it is broadcasted, and the channel broadcasting the entertainment selection. The information is typically presented in a static text format.